AMITY UNIVERSITY RAJASTHAN, JAIPUR

TERM PAPER
ON
IN-DISPLAY FINGERPRINT TECHNOLOGY

SUBMITTED TO: - SUBMITTED BY :-

Mrs. Pooja Parnami Prakhil Sethi

B.Tech.C.S.E.(sem-3)
 INDEX

1. INTRODUCTION

2. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

3. SOFTWARE

4. HARDWARE

5. WORKING

6. CURRENT POSITION

7. ADVANTAGES

8. LIMITATIONS

8.1 SECURITY PROBLEMS

9. FUTURE SCOPE

10. CONCLUSION

11. REFERENCES
 1. INTRODUCTION

Apple’s iPhone 5s started the whole smartphone biometrics saga with the introduction of
Touch ID. The fingerprint scanner element is now ubiquitous, embedded in home buttons,
mounted on the back side of mobile phones and even placed on the side beneath the home
button of handsets. Naturally, the development of faster and more accurate fingerprint readers
led to the makings of newer ways of unlocking your smartphone.

This includes facial recognition like Face ID and something that we will be discussing in
detail today; the in-screen fingerprint reader. As we see higher screen-to-body ratio
smartphones getting released, a consequence of this action is the where to put the fingerprint
reader, which is often moved to the back of the phone to compensate for those ‘all screen’
handsets.

However, having an in-screen fingerprint reader will forego this change and we will explain
what its internals are like and what are the possibilities for the future of smartphones.

 Synaptics Hard at Work with Its Clear ID FS9500 Intended for High-End
Smartphones:-
Synaptics and Vivo have this long-term partnership that enabled the making of the Clear ID
FS9500, which is an optical sensor that can be placed beneath the display of the smartphone.

The display on the smartphone needs to be an OLED panel, which is why you are only going
to find it on devices that are touting OLED screens and that can only mean that for now,
high-end phones will come bearing this security addition.

 As the fingerprint scanner is built into the display there's no need for a physical home
key on the front of the phone, which means this Vivo handset has slender bezels
above and below the large screen.

 It also means there's no need for a scanner on the rear of the phone. This gives the
manufacturer greater flexibility in terms of design, as the digit reader doesn't have to
be considered when planning the aesthetics of the device.
 2. HISTORY AND BACKGROUND

 The world's first phone with a working fingerprint sensor was Pantech GI100 which
was launched back in 2004. The fingerprint scanner on Pantech GI100 is not just for
fingerprint recognition; it also has extra features like fingerprint authentication and
fingerprint speed dialing.

 But, it was Toshiba which took the fingerprint scanner phones to the mainstream.
Back in 2007, when we used to see phones running Windows Mobile 7 , the most
popular Windows Mobile phones were from HTC, Palm and we used to see Windows
Mobile on PDAs from HP . Back then, Toshiba came out with Toshiba G500, along
with G900. Just a little later HTC joined the league and launched HTC P6500.

 But, the modern day fingerprint scanner revolution started from the one of the Apple’s
bestselling phone i.e. iPhone 5s and the crowd was attracted to the Touch ID.

 With 2018 , there is the starting of new era, with a fingerprint scanner beneath the
screen of the phone.
 3. SOFTWARE

Mainly, all the fingerprint scanners give the best response with Android and iOS softwares.
Since this technology is not launched by Apple, there remains only one operating system i.e.
Android .

Different companies collaberate with different companies to use different softwares for
making the fingerprint recognition technology fast.

There are also companies who use cloud computing for the recognition of fingerprint at large
level.NEXA is one of such company.it has launched several generations to make the
technology as fast as it goes.

Nexa Fingerprint provides high-performance biometric algorithms for multistage fingerprint

recognition and identification or rapid, high-volume fingerprint authentication. Nexa APIs are
reliable, configurable, and easy to use, complemented by a level of technical support that has
helped make Aware a trusted provider of high-quality biometric software.
 4. HARDWARE

An in-display fingerprint is embedded under a smartphone’s display uses an optical

fingerprint sensor to capture and identify users fingerprint information.

This particular type of fingerprint sensor that works under that screen was pioneered by
Synaptics, a California-based manufacturer of fingerprint biometrics technology for
smartphones and also, touchpads for laptops. Synaptics developed the ‘Synaptics Clear ID
sensor’ (named the Clear ID FS9500). The Clear ID is the first-ever optical in-display
fingerprint sensor and mass produced it for Vivo to use on the Vivo X20 Plus UD.

How an In-display Fingerprint Scanner works

First off, in-display fingerprint sensors (Clear ID) are produced to work with OLED panels
and not on any other smartphone display technologies. This explains why the in-display
fingerprint sensor only on smartphones with OLED display.
 5. WORKING

There are mainly 3 types of Fingerprint scanners and they are mentioned below

A. Capacitive Fingerprint Scanners

B. Ultrasonic Fingerprint Scanners

C. Optical Fingerprint Scanners

 The in-display fingerprint scanners fall under the category of Optical scanners.

A. CAPACITIVE SCANNERS :-

The most commonly found type of fingerprint scanner used today is the capacitive scanner.
You’ll find these type of scanner inside various flagships, including the Galaxy S8, HTC
U11, LG G6, and others. Again the name gives away the core component, providing you’re
familiar with a little electronics, the capacitor.

Instead of creating a traditional image of a fingerprint, capacitive fingerprint scanners use

arrays tiny capacitor circuits to collect data about a fingerprint. As capacitors can store
electrical charge, connecting them up to conductive plates on the surface of the scanner
allows them to be used to track the details of a fingerprint. The charge stored in the capacitor
will be changed slightly when a finger’s ridge is placed over the conductive plates, while an
air gap will leave the charge at the capacitor relatively unchanged. An op-amp integrator
circuit is used to track these changes, which can then be recorded by an analogue-to-digital
converter.
 The theory and architecture behind a capacitive fingerprint scanning chip.

Once captured, this digital data can be analysed to look for distinctive and unique fingerprint
attributes, which can be saved for a comparison at a later date. What is particularly smart
about this design is that it is much tougher to fool than an optical scanner. The results can’t
be replicated with an image and is incredibly tough to fool with some sort of prosthetic, as
different materials will record slightly different changes in charge at the capacitor. The only
real security risks come from either hardware or software hacking.

Creating a large enough array of these capacitors, typically hundreds if not thousands in a
single scanner, allows for a highly detailed image of the ridges and valleys of a fingerprint to
be created from nothing more than electrical signals. Just like the optical scanner, more
capacitors results in a higher resolution scanner, increasing the level of security, up to a
certain point.

Due to the number larger number of components in the detection circuit, capacitive scanners
can be a little pricey. Some early implementations attempted to cut the number of capacitors
needed by using “swipe” scanners, which would collect data from a smaller number of
capacitor components by quickly refreshing the results as a finger is pulled over the sensor.
As many consumers complained at the time, this method was very finicky and often required
several attempts to scan the result correctly. Fortunately, these days, the simple press and
hold design is far more common.
Looking forward, Synaptics has also unveiled its latest FS4600 capacitive scanner that
supports new UI features. These include soft button support to act as navigation keys, force
sensing capabilities, and swipe gesture support. Of course, this isn’t the first scanner to
support geastures, the Nexus 5X, 6P and Google Pixel support similar features, as does the
Huawei Mate S and some Meizu models. In future, many more devices may support a wider
variety of swipe and navigation features using their fingerprint scanners.

B. ULTRASONIC SCANNERS:

The latest fingerprint scanning technology to enter the smartphone space is an ultrasonic
sensor, which was first announced to be inside the Le Max Pro smartphone. Qualcomm and
its Sense ID technology are also a major part of the design in this particular phone.

To actually capture the details of a fingerprint, the hardware consists of both an ultrasonic
transmitter and a receiver. An ultrasonic pulse is transmitted against the finger that is placed
over the scanner. Some of this pulse is absorbed and some of it is bounced back to the sensor,
depending upon the ridges, pores and other details that are unique to each fingerprint.

There isn’t a microphone listening out for these returning signals, instead a sensor that can
detect mechanical stress is used to calculate the intensity of the returning ultrasonic pulse at
different points on the scanner. Scanning for longer periods of time allows for additional
depth data to be captured, resulting in a highly detailed 3D reproduction of the scanned
fingerprint. The 3D nature of this capture technique makes it an even more secure alternative
to capacitive scanners.

While this technology is still yet to appear in a commercial handset, Vivo has shown off a
concept model that includes Qualcomm’s ultrasonic in-display fingerprint scanner.
C. OPTICAL SCANNERS :-

Optical fingerprint scanners are the oldest method of capturing and comparing fingerprints.
As the name suggests, this technique relies on capturing an optical image, essentially a
photograph, and using algorithms to detect unique patterns on the surface, such as ridges or
unique marks, by analysing the lightest and darkest areas of the image.

Just like smartphone cameras, these sensors can have a finite resolution, and the higher the
resolution, the finer details the sensor can discern about your finger, increasing the level of
security. However, these sensors capture much higher contrast images than a regular camera.
These scanners typically have a very high number of diodes per inch to capture these details
up close. Of course, it’s very dark when your finger is placed over the scanner, so optical
scanners also incorporate arrays of LEDs as a flash to light up the picture come scan time.
Such a design is a bit bulky for a smartphone though, where slim form factors are important.

The major drawback with optical scanners is that they aren’t difficult to fool. As the
technology is only capturing a 2D picture, prosthetics and even other pictures of good enough
quality can be used to fool this particular design. This type of scanners really isn’t secure
enough to trust your most sensitive details to. It’s also slowly being phased out these days.
Literally, when you place your finger on the device, a light is shone on your finger, the sensor
then proceeds to capture your fingerprint and the device is unlock. Technically, in-display
fingerprint sensors work by using the light emitted from the gaps between the pixels of the
OLED panel. When a hser places a finger on the sensor, this light illuminates the fingerprint
and ultimately captures it.

A (very) high resolution image of fingerprint is taken and an algorithm proceeds to detect
unique patterns of your prints by thoroughly analyzing every part of the captured image. The
algorithm analyzes the dark and light part of your finger, as well as ridges and valleys. To
ensure effective capture of your fingerprint data by any in-display sensor, you have to exert a
little bit of pressure on the screen so the sensor can accurately differentiate between ridges
and valleys of each fingerprints.

 Algorithms and cryptography :-

While most fingerprint scanners are based on very similar hardware principles, additional
components and software can also play a major part in differentiating how products perform
and what features are available to consumers.

Accompanying the physical scanner is a dedicated IC that deals with interpreting the scanned
data and transmitting this in a useful form to your smartphone’s main processor. Different
manufacturers use slightly different algorithms to identify key fingerprint characteristics,
which can vary in speed and accuracy.

Typically these algorithms look for where ridges and lines end, or where a ridge splits in two.
Collectively, these and other distinctive features are called minutiae. If a scanned fingerprint
matches several of these minutiae then it will be considered a match. Rather than comparing
the whole fingerprint each time, comparing minutiae reduces the amount of processing power
required to identify each fingerprint, helps avoid errors if the scanned fingerprint is smudged,
and also allows the finger to placed off-centre or be identified with only a partial print.

Of course, this information needs to be kept secure on your device and saved well away from
code that could compromise it. Rather than uploading this user data online, ARM processors
can keep this information securely on the physical chip using its Trusted Execution
Environment (TEE) based TrustZone technology. This secure area is also used for other
cryptographic processes and to communicate directly with secure hardware platforms, such as
a fingerprint scanner, to prevent any software snooping. Approved pieces of none personal
information, such as a password key, can only be accessed by applications using the TEE
client APIs.

Qualcomm’s take on this is built into its Secure MSM architecture while Apple talks this up
as the “Secure Enclave”, but it is all based on the same principle of keeping this secure data
on a separate part of the processor that cannot be accessed by apps operating in the regular
operating system environment. The FIDO (Fast IDentity Online) Alliance has developed
strong cryptographic protocols that use these protected hardware zones to enable password-
less authentication handshakes between hardware and services. So you can log into a website
or online shop using your fingerprint without your unique data ever having to leave your
smartphone. This is accomplished by passing digital keys rather than biometric data to
servers.
 6. CURRENT POSITION

Currently this technology can be seen only in some of the high end phones.VIVO Nex and
the recently launched OnePlus 6t are one of those high end phones.Although, these scanners
are slower than the normal fingerprint scanners but all the leading brands are working to
improve this technology and to become the king of the market.

Samsung,a well-known south korean MNC is also working on the same and it is hope to be
launched with its flagship phone galaxy S10.

Apple can also return to the fingerprint scanner technology as the market demands and is also
working on this technology and to launch with its new iPhone.
 7. ADVANTAGES

To start with, the front-mounted in-display or under display fingerprint sensor feels more
natural. That’s where brands like Samsung, OnePlus, and Apple used to place it before the
full-view screens required them to be shifted to the back. A front-mounted sensor is also
more convenient to use when your phone is resting on your table.

Apart from returning the fingerprint reader to the front, the under display sensors will also
allow for a broader scanning area. For instance, sometime in future, you could simply place
your thumb any place on the screen while pulling your phone out of your pocket to unlock it
seamlessly.

And lastly, the in-display fingerprint sensors work reasonably well with wet and greasy
hands. That’s something you don’t get with capacitive fingerprint sensors.

Advantages can be concluded as follows:-

1. In-display fingerprint sensors are thin:- this makes them attractive as we are entering
into an era where manufacturers are looking for the best possible ways to shrink down
the thickness of phone sizes. Although many OEMs like Xiaomi and Huawei have
now adopted the technology, we expect more manufacturers to get in line.

2. Easily accessible and Convenient:- unlike rear-facing fingerprint sensors that takes
some getting used to, in-display sensors are easy to reach and relatively convenient.

3. Functionality is independent of finger conditions:- in-display fingerprint sensors will

read your fingerprints accurately even if your fingers are wet, cold, or dry. Fingerprint
capture with regular scanners under these conditions are difficult.

4. SentryPoint Security Suit:- In-display sensors comes with industry’s highest level of
secure fingerprint authentication.
 8. LIMITATIONS

As innovative and interesting as the new in-display fingerprint scanning technology is, there
are some downsides to it when compared to the regular on-body fingerprint sensor is.

1. Speed: although an in-display sensor unlocks in about half a second (averagely), it

doesn’t compare to the unlock speed of regular fingerprint sensors. They are optical-
type sensors and are inherently slower than the capacitive one.

2. Interference: applying any type of tempered glass may lead to delayed or inaccurate
fingerprint capture. The sensor may also misbehave if the tampered glass is thicker
than 1.5mm.

3. Repairing Cost: they could add to the repairing cost as smartphone screens are quite
vulnerable to damage.
 8.1 SECURITY PROBLEMS

On the security front, the Clear ID in the Vivo X21 is accompanied by a robust anti-spoofing
system. Since it's an optical sensor and not a capacitive one, it won't be able to sense a pulse,
due to which it can be duped with fake scans.

Thankfully, the onboard security measures are smart enough to detect spoofed fingerprints.
Other than that, it also depends on the OEMs on how they scale up the authentication
measures.
 9. FUTURE SCOPE

The sensor does not have to be placed at a single location. During the announcement of the
Vivo APEX, which is honestly the first glimpse into the future of what bezel-less
smartphones will look like, it too features an in-glass fingerprint reader, but here’s the catch.

The bottom half of the phone is covered by this CMOS sensor, which the company is calling
it the ‘Half-Screen Fingerprint Scanning Technology’. This means that you place your finger
anywhere at the bottom half and if your fingerprint is registered, the phone will unlock
seamlessly.

This development also means that there is a future where we might get to see smartphones
with their entire displays being covered with the sensor.

All you will have to do is whip it out, place your finger anywhere and immediately, the phone
will be unlocked. That is certainly a future that we will look forward to witnessing but for
that specific future to materialize and become a reality, better versions of the fingerprint are
going to have to be released.

With full view display becoming a ubiquitous feature in smartphones, it was high time that
the handy fingerprint sensor saw a major upgrade. And with Qualcomm introducing its own
variant of ultrasonic in-display fingerprint sensors, there's no doubt that the in-display
fingerprint sensor will most likely be the newest trend in the smartphone world.
 10. CONCLUSION

Fingerprint scanners have become quite a secure alternative to remembering countless user-
names and passwords, and the further roll out of secure mobile payment systems means that
these scanners are likely to become a more common and crucial security tool in the future.

However, it's a bit early to comment on the security of these scanners. Time and additional
security tests will undoubtedly yield a far better picture.
 11. REFERENCES

1. https://www.androidauthority.com/how-fingerprint-scanners-work-670934/
2. https://wccftech.com/in-screen-fingerprint-reader-explained/
3. https://www.guidingtech.com/how-in-display-fingerprint-scanners-work/
4. https://www.dignited.com/36383/how-an-in-display-fingerprint-scanner-works-and-
more/
5. https://www.aware.com/biometrics/nexa-fingerprint-recognition/